Lively Races This Year
For Vermont House
By James Dwinell

In the races for the Vermont House of Representatives, most candidates from both parties agree on the critical issue of this election year: dismay, confusion, and anxiety over sky-high property taxes.

As the candidates have been going door-to-door, this is what they say hear about first, taxes so high that they are "threatening the back forty" as Neal Fox, house candidate from Bethel, was told by a voter.

Candidates from both parties agree that education expenses are chewing up revenue at a rate well beyond that of inflation. Democrats and Progressives contend that the drivers of the soaring education costs are energy, health care, and special education.

Republicans suggest that the driver is class size. Vermont has one of the lowest teacher/student ratios in the country and thus one of the most expensive school systems. Either we need to increase incomes, increase class size to what we can afford, or both, Republicans contend.

The second most often discussed door-to-door issue is the rising cost of and access to health care. Once again there is general disagreement: the Democrats and Progressives support the two year health care reform effort that resulted in the passage of Catamount Health, benefits beginning July 1, 2007.

Republicans do not think that Catamount Health is financially sustainable based on employers’ and policy holder contributions, and the higher cigarette tax. They support a more competitive insurance market by allowing Vermonters to obtain health insurance from any carrier in the United States, not just those allowed in Vermont.

The Democrats in the 2005-6 House held 83 seats, 60 for the GOP, 6 for the Progressives, and a lone independent. Here is a rundown of this candidates for the Vermont House of Representatives in our area.

Windsor-Rutland 2

Bethel, Rochester, Pittsford, and Stockbridge

One-term incumbent Sandy Haas of Rochester characterized this race, saying, "Neal Fox and I are different in almost every way!"

Voters have a real choice. Each heard an earful about property taxes. Each knows that rising education costs are the culprit. Fox says, "We have to stop the spending increases; we need to spend just enough for a good education. The low class sizes are very unrealistic. It is more important not to keep cutting folks’ disposable income to pay for schools."

Haas has a different take, saying, "The question is how to pay for education. We should not rely on the property tax. That is inherently unfair. We need to look at other revenue sources to fund schools."

Fox challenges that notion: "Our responsibility as leaders and representatives is to create conditions for people to invest in Vermont, thereby creating jobs. We do not have good job creation support.

"I work at the Green Mountain Economic Development office in White River and our phones have just stopped ringing. On top of that, the legislature only increased our budget $833. Not much help there."

Rep. Haas, a member of the Housing and Human Services Committee, said, "I really love the job. Our committee processed 40 bills in a good collaborative environment. I worked hard on the Advanced Directives Law known as the living will bill. And as chair of the Women’s Caucus we came up with a great program to help incarcerated women return to society."

Windsor-Orange 1

Tunbridge and Royalton

This race is difficult to cover. Incumbent Rosemary McLaughlin of Royalton was stricken with an aggressive abdominal cancer just at the filing deadline for candidates in mid-July. Chemotherapy has kept her from heavy campaigning, the door-to-door activity of most candidates.

Nonetheless she said, "What I took most pride in the last two years of my work on the Education Committee was the farm-to-school legislation providing locally grown foods to the schools.

"I also think that the Catamount Health Plan is a step in the right direction toward universal health care. I hope to return to the legislature to work on energy issues and education spending."

Her opponent, dairy and produce farmer David Ainsworth, also of Royalton, lost to McLaughlin by 70 votes in 2004. He too heard lots about the property tax.

"Property taxes are the number one issue. Many people are confused, others just don’t understand the constant increases, but nobody likes it. I want to go to Montpelier to take their concerns, apply some common sense to keep Vermont affordable, to manage within our means. I am very worried that the recent government policies are creating a Vermont that is just too expensive and forcing out the typical Vermonters.

"This is not the time to be adding two more Pre-K grades. Why are we expanding when we cannot pay for what we have?"

Orange-1

Chelsea, Williamstown, Corinth, Orange, Vershire, and Washington

"Here is a true Vermont district—six towns and no grocery store or stop light," said Independent candidate Julie Anne Thayer of Williamstown. Thayer ran in 2004 as a Democrat but her new job for the Census Bureau prohibits her running as a Democrat.

"My issue this year is global warming, what can we do to save more and use less?"

Five-term incumbent Phil Winters, also of Williamstown, disagrees. "The property tax is a major, major issue. It hurts young couples just starting out and retired people. The state through Act 60 has no control on school spending. Then we keep raising the prebate level well past middle class income putting a greater burden on the average Joe.

"I do not support the Catamount Health Plan as it is not sustainable. The $91.25 per employee payment required from employers for full time workers not covered by insurance is a far bit cheaper than covering them. Would it not then motivate employers to cut their insurance at some $300 per month and put them on the state plan thereby making it even more unsustainable?"

Fellow incumbent Republican Sylvia Kennedy of Chelsea is proud of her six years in Montpelier.

"I have now been around long enough that I can help make things happen. This past year I was able to figure out how to overcome opposition to H.12, the ham radio bill. We do not have emergency coverage for the whole state. But through the help of ham radio folks we do. Even though some senators were opposed, we got that bill passed."

She too has been hearing nonstop about our high property taxes. "People just can’t afford things anymore.

"I love this job," she added.

Progressive Susan Hatch Davis of East Orange rounds out the field. She runs "to represent the average working Vermonter who has no voice in Montpelier.

"Too many families are squeezed by the property tax. The market value of a house is not a good indicator of how much money a family is worth. The League of Cities and Towns offered a proposal that cuts the property tax by 70% and replaces it with an income tax. It's a good place to start the discussion."

A native of Orange, her door knocking has turned up a concern for the lack of broadband in her district.

"There is just no infrastructure out here. Nor is there the will in government to make it happen. Broadband is a job and income opportunity denied to my constituents."

Orange-Addison Randolph, Granville, Braintree, and Brookfield

Democrat incumbents Patsy French and Jim Hutchinson of Randolph are running against newcomers Bob Wolffe of Randolph and David Atkinson of Braintree. Atkinson has garnered plenty of publicity for his campaign which might have allowed him to win the primary by just one vote.

Atkinson lived in Randolph in the 1980’s while dreaming of living by the ocean. So he moved to Provincetown, Mass., and was elected to the selectboard.

"What I saw there, I am now seeing here. Wealthy folks move in and spend more money for houses than the locals. Soon natives can no longer afford housing. Today in Provincetown, they hire Jamaicans, Irish and folks from the Middle East to do work that natives used to do. And the shame of it is that most of these homes are empty at least 75% of the year.

"The property tax is making it so people can’t afford to own their property anymore. A representative’s job is to protect the voters’ money. You never have an end of good things that you can do. But we can’t afford the government that we have, let alone more."

Jim Hutchinson is proud of his work on the Ancient Roads bill during the past session in Montpelier.

"It has been an incredible learning experience. There were over 1,300 bills introduced. We passed a couple of hundred. Many will be reintroduced. This legislative process takes patience. There are so many concerned parties for every bill. But I must admit that at the end of the day the system works.

"I see my job as being dedicated to representing our district. This is a unique district. We have logging to high tech to dairy farms."

Bob Wolffe, an oil and propane technician, is concerned about the direction of government.

"We cannot tax ourselves into prosperity. We need to let business be business. I was a small businessman in Pittsford. I seemed to spend half my time filling out government forms and not talking with the customers. Business is a private thing: customers can decide whether to shop there or not, workers can decide whether or not it is a good place to work. If it isn’t, it will be gone, whether you are in compliance with all the paperwork or not."

Two-term incumbent Patsy French rounds out the field. The Randolph native and UVM grad served on the House Human Services Committee and hopes to return to that committee.

Commenting on the last session she said, "We made a small start on health care reform with the Catamount Plan. We need to expand it, but that takes time. Health care is key to economic development in Vermont as are energy issues. We began in dealing with energy and we need to follow up next year.

"There are many who are concerned about their property taxes. But it seems to me that this is just the thing that they are supposed to be concerned about this year, sort of the ‘in thing’ this year," she concluded.

Windsor 6

Barnard, Pomfret, and West Hartford

Democrat incumbent Michael Reese of Pomfret decided not to stand for reëlection. Two newcomers, neither of whom has held public office, are working hard to replace Mr. Reese.

The better known is Republican Scott Milne of Barnard through his ownership of the Milne Travel Agency. His mother Marion was a long time representative from Washington, and his father Don has been Clerk of the House for years.

Milne is interested in prosperity, saying, "I think that Vermont is missing out on the economic prosperity that much of the rest of the country enjoys. We are not there yet, but we are losing the middle class. There are many good jobs in Vermont which go unfilled, often because people cannot find affordable housing."

Democrat candidate Mark Mitchell is also from Barnard. A graduate of both Dartmouth and Harvard, we do not know for whom he will root in this weekend’s Dartmouth Harvard football game in Hanover.

"I am very excited about the opportunity to serve my district," he said. "My disciplined training as an architect will help me serve my constituents. For years I have listened to people discuss their ideas and then worked hard and creatively to turn those ideas into a building. Politics is similar. I will listen intently to all sides, then work hard to turn their ideas into policy."

Windsor-Orange 2

Thetford, Norwich, Sharon, and Strafford

This race pits incumbent Democrat Jim Masland of Thetford who replaced Ruth Dwyer in 1998 and newcomer Margaret Cheney of Norwich against Republicans Rod Moses of Thetford and Richard Wilson of Sharon.

James Dwinell of Randolph has been a television commentator on MSNBC, CNN, C-SPAN and is a member of the National Press Club with Capitol Hill credentials. He commented on American politics for the BBC while in the United Kingdom in 2003-04. For eight years he wrote for Campaigns and Elections Magazine in Washington, DC. In Vermont, he has written for the Addison Eagle and is the author of the occasional newsletter, the Dwinell Political Report.